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Description
New technologies could assist the Greek law enforcement authorities in combating crime. However, the use of such technologies shall be in full compliance with the applicable European legislation and case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), so that the Fundamental Rights of Privacy and Data Protection are respected. Greece has not implemented the provisions of the Directive 2016/680, which deals with the processing of personal data by law enforcement authorities, one year and one month after the respective deadline. Moreover, Greece has not reformed its legislation on the retention of electronic communication metadata (Law 3917/2011) according to the CJEU’s rulings, even though such a related legislative Committee exists for 5 years now (Ministerial Decision 57148/8.7.2014).
There is an urgent need to upgrade the current Greek legal framework so that it meets the high standards provided for in the European law and the CJEU’s caselaw. The goal of this project is to push the national authorities towards the national implementation of the Directive 2016/680 and the reform of the Law 3917/2011. In order to accomplish such a goal, a campaign will take place which will raise awareness amongst key stakeholders, put pressure on the shoulders of the legislative authorities, promote accountability of law enforcement authorities during the processing of people’s personal data, and enhance our role as a watchdog for the promotion and protection of human rights in the digital age. All the individuals living in Greece will be benefited for such an action. However, often communities of Roma and of immigrants are at the center of attention of Law Enforcement Authorities, thus they are even more in danger of human rights’ violations. Our role is to successfully organize and run the campaign.
Summary of project results
The main message of the project Digital Ri.Se (Digital Rights & Security) was the need for safeguarding human rights protection during the use of new technologies by the police authorities in Greece. During the project, citizens were informed regarding the insufficient legal framework currently in place. Moreover, all interested stakeholders were activated with a view to renewing the current framework and cooperating to achieve better human rights protection, including privacy and security. The project’s main event was “Technology–led Policing: Between Privacy and Security”, which took place in Technopolis, Municipality of Athens on 30 September 2020. The event took place without the presence of audience, due to coronavirus restrictions. However, it was publicly available on the channel of Homo Digitalis on YouTube.
The project was a big success, since:
- all the subject matter stakeholders spoke all together for the first time since 2014. The emerging need for a new legal framework was their main conclusion, if police authorities intend to use new technologies in the fight against crime. It must be noted that even though the Greek Police was not present at the event, it showed great interest for its conclusions and showed great enthusiasm for this Homo Digitalis initiative. Representatives of the Ministry of Digital Governance, the Data Protection Authority, the Authority for Communication Privacy and Security, members of the judiciary, academics, civil society representatives from Greece and the EU and journalists took part in the discussion. They all showed great enthusiasm for the level of discussion and wait for it to be continued, with a view to drafting a firm legal framework.
-more than 1,000 citizens watched the event on live stream. The event is now available to watch on YouTube, with the interest on it constantly increasing.